Local News

Town considers options on water project

Corps insists on steel pipe

The Wiggins Board of Trustees looked at another option for putting the final section of the new water pipeline through the town's flood levee during a meeting Wednesday evening.

Wiggins Interim Town Administrator Jon Richardson said he had contacted a local engineering firm about options and told the board it would be possible to bore under the levee.

He discussed that option, because the board had been shocked at the price tag of almost $180,000 for that last section of pipe given by the contractor which built the rest of the pipeline.

The initial pipeline contractor told the board that the cost reflects a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requirement that the pipe going through the levee be made of steel, not polyethylene. The job will require multiple welds and multiple inspections, which makes it expensive in manhours.

That contractor also said that the polyethylene pipe would actually be better than steel, because it would require less maintenance.

olyethylene pipes of this sort are not like plastic pipes people may be familiar with, since they are thicker and stronger.

It is unfortunate the town must pay the higher price for a material that is not as strong as the polyethylene, he said.

But the corps insists on the steel, and U.S. Department of Agriculture overseers of the project want the corps requirements met, board members said.

Apparently, the corps has never approved plastic pipe, said Tim Holbrook of Industrial Facilities Engineering, which designed the system and is watching over the project.

Advertisement

Also, a corps representative said that he was concerned about what might happen to local homeowners' flood insurance costs if the steel is not used. The corps worries about what might happen to the levee if there were a catastrophic failure of the pipe, he said.

The idea of boring under the levee is interesting, but it took many months to get approval for the design it has, and the town does not want to jeopardize the certification of its flood levee.

Going back to the original plan or another plan could create an issue, said Wiggins Town Attorney Melinda Culley.

Richardson said the USDA told him he could discuss the bore idea with the contractor and the board as long as the design met corps specifications.

The main concern is to do the project right, so the new water system can be used, said Mayor Margarito "Mac" Leon Jr.

Trustee Dan Neal said it is frustrating that the corps is deciding what should happen without even coming to the town to look at the project, given that the cost will heavily impact the town budget.

The pipeline contractor said he would be willing to talk to the corps about the use of plastic pipe, and the board decided to have him and some trustees talk with a corps representative.

Neal also asked the contractor to break out the costs of the final section of pipe, so the board knows what it is paying for.

The contractor said the bid is not done by man ours, but by crew days, since they would not be doing anything but the pipe. He said he could do the job on the original bid, or do it by the time and materials involved.

However, if there is a time overrun, the town would be taking on the risk of a higher cost if the project is done on a time and materials basis.

"This isn't a cheap piece of work," he emphasized.

He also said that the steel carrier pipe would have to be made to order, since it is not regular steel pipe, but it should not take too long to get it.

The contractor said it should only take about two weeks to finish up the project once the materials are in hand.

Neal said the town will have problems if there is not water running through the pipes soon.

Richardson said he would call the corps and try to arrange for a representative to come to town.

He said he is also still waiting to hear about what is needed for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to re-certify the flood levee.

Other matters

The board also:

Heard that a committee working on writing a grant application to repair and renovate the town park ball fields met again and is looking at the costs so it will know what matching funds the town would need to spend. Also, it is looking at new playground equipment as long as it is doing a grant.

Heard that a pickup truck was purchased at a price of $5,500 to replace one that caught on fire recently and was completely ruined.

Decided to buy a new audio recorder, since the old one used for official recordings of the board meetings is malfunctioning.